Ralph Dale Seymour, Jr., the son of R. D. and Una (Weedin) Seymour, was born in the Milton, Missouri, area on February 18, 1925. A short time later his family moved to the farm north of Fairfax, Missouri, which his father, R.D., had purchased in 1919. Dale contracted polio after his freshman year in high school and received treatment at Warm Springs, Georgia. He attended Iowa State College, Ames, Iowa, and received a Bachelor of Science in Animal Husbandry in 1947. On July 6th of that same year he married Dorothie “Pat” French. They recently celebrated their 72nd wedding anniversary.

After college he joined his father’s farming operation and also taught Vocational Agriculture to returning veterans for a few years. His younger brother, Blaine, became part of the farming operation after college and they were a team until Blaine’s death in 2007. In 1952, the brothers purchased Craven Implement and renamed it Fairfax Implement Company which operated for 43 years.

In his retirement Dale and Pat participated nationally in competitive trail riding. Dale’s equine expertise was not limited to horses; he was a big fan of mules and their special abilities. He was very proud that Pat won two national championships on different mules he coached her on – a first for that sport. Dale died peacefully Sunday, July 28, 2019, at the age of 94 at his home following a recent illness.

Besides his parents and brother, Blaine, Dale was preceded in death by infant twin sister, Gale Seymour. Survivors include his wife, Pat, of the home; son, Lane (Aimeé) Seymour, Fairfax; daughter, Gale Shaw and Bill Gately, Port Orange, Florida; granddaughters, Amber (Joel) Roberts, Colorado Springs, Colorado, Kaitlin (David) Roberson, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Ashley (Sean) Moore, Altamont Springs, Florida, Emily (Sam) Yoo, Columbia, Missouri, and Gretchen (Bradley) Bergstrand, Bluffton, Ohio; and grandson, Logan (Ashley) Shaw, Reno, Nevada; as well as 12 great-grandchildren with one on the way; sister-in-law, Rosalie Seymour, Tarkio, Missouri; and numerous nieces and nephews.

A private family inurnment will take place at Pleasant Ridge Cemetery near Fairfax. Memorials can be made to Atchison County, Missouri, Salvation Army for flood relief, 218 South Maple, Tarkio, MO 64491.

Arrangements were under the direction of Schooler Funeral Home, Fairfax.